Ramdev asserts he won't support any party in 2019 Lok Sabha elections, says difficult to predict who will become PM

Yoga guru Ramdev on Tuesday said that the current political situation in India is quite complex and it will be difficult to predict who will be the next prime minister. The statement, coming from Ramdev who was earlier thought to be in support of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, surprised many.

File iage of Ramdev Baba. PTI

"Now the political situation is very difficult. Who will win in 2019, we cannot say anything. But it will be a tough fight," Ramdev told news agency ANI. He was speaking in Tamil Nadu's Madurai at an event hosted at the international airport to spread awareness about Yoga.

Ramdev appeared to be distancing himself from politics and the saffron party as he asserted that he does not follow politics very closely and does not support anyone. " I am not focusing on politics, I don’t support or oppose anyone," Ramdev said.

These comments were in stark contrast with the Yoga guru's stand in the past. Ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, Ramdev had expressed support for Modi, calling him the "symbol of development and good governance."

However, this is not the first time he has distanced himself from the BJP and stressed that he won't campaign for any party in 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Earlier in September, Ramdev had categorically said that he would not campaign for the BJP. "I have withdrawn politically. I am with all the parties and I am independent," he had said while responding to a question at NDTV Yuva Conclave. Later in the same month, Ramdev said, "I am an apolitical person, I am not bound by political limitations, Mother India is my first priority and my work is my religion. So, my only focus is that."

Ramdev also dodged questions about the BJP and RSS' agenda for a Hindu Rashtra while asserting he is neither interested in making India Hindu, nor communal and would rather focus on spreading spirituality in the nation. "We don’t aim to make a communal or Hindu India, we want to make a spiritual India and world."

Ramdev, had openly supported the BJP's election campaign in 2014 Lok Sabha polls. He was also named Haryana's brand ambassador and was granted cabinet minister rank.

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